Parents were heartbroken seeing their cancer-stricken toddler sad—until one moment in the hospital changed everything

Seeing a child go through any kind of pain can be really hard for the parents. So a couple was feeling really distressed when their baby was diagnosed with cancer and was going through painful treatments to cure the same. The kid, Asher, used to be really sad because of pain from chemotherapy and more. However, one day, he finally met the therapy dogs at the hospital. The boy's reaction to them turned out to be a big moment for the whole family, according to a video from his mom, Ambra, who goes by @ambrafrank on TikTok. The video received over 747,000 views.

The baby had been diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer, back in November 2024. In February, he got a chance to meet one of the therapy dogs at the hospital. He was sitting on his dad's lap and Ambra got a chance to film the wholesome moment. Asher looked really excited as the dog came closer to him. He extended his arm and touched the dog's head with the biggest smile on his face the moment he petted the dog. He bounced on his dad's lap in excitement and touched the dog's head again as the medical staff member encouraged him to keep going. The staff member also gave him a picture of the dog to keep.

"I remember taking this video in February of my son meeting his first hospital therapy dog," the caption read. "The second they entered the room, I was curious how our son would react. After he started his fight with cancer just three months before this moment, I couldn’t help but cry seeing his face light up with excitement." The mom went on, "The hospital therapy dogs will forever hold a special place in our hearts. I’ll never forget the joy it would bring our son during his darkest days of treatment. He looked forward to collecting all of their cards with their pictures."

The moment meant a lot to the boy's parents because hearing his diagnosis was really difficult for them. Ambra told Newsweek, "Hearing his diagnosis brought heartache, I couldn't ever fully explain. The world around me felt at a standstill and every day felt like just trying to stay above the waves crashing down on me. Every day felt like an endless replay of what I could’ve done sooner as his mom, as if I could’ve rewritten the future myself." The boy used to be sad because of all the treatments and pain he was going through. "I cried seeing his joy because for days he was so sad … it broke my heart. I'll never forget that moment and the joy it brought to our family."

People appreciated the sweet moment in the comments section of the video. @cwexplore wrote, "I can sleep well now knowing this sweet child beat cancer and has a puppy at home. Thanks for sharing…may your child continue to live a healthy and cancer-free life." @kourtnotkardash commented, "Dogs are the best creatures on this planet. I’m so glad your little guy is doing well now." @kmoney remarked, "Lord, thank you for healing this baby. May he continue to be a healthy baby and live his life in good health. In Jesus' name I pray!" In another video, the mom raised awareness about Hepatoblastoma in hopes of getting attention and research funding for the disease. Asher had become cancer-free on the third of October 2025.

You can follow Ambra (@ambrafrank) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

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